Precious
by The Orgasmic Uke
Summary: To hold something close and dear, you have the chance of smothering it. But if you let it breathe, give it the chance to grow, you may be surprised with the results. Merman AU


**It started with a drabble prompt and it grew from there. This is kind of a cluster fuck of things and I just, I was happy with it in the beginning and the more I wrote the less I liked it. Oh well. It's done. Here it is. **

**Disclaimer: Bitches know.**

* * *

"Don't get to close to the water, John!" The smiling woman called after her young son who paused in skipping down to the ocean. She leaned out the window, waving a hand at him with a smile on her face. "Be careful!"

"I will mom!" The five-year old gave his mother a bright bucktoothed smile in returned before hugging the tugboat to his chest and shuffled down the rather steep path that led from their lovely little home to the ocean.

The Egberts home sat atop a beautiful hill, surrounded mostly by water aside from the road that led back into town. One of John's favorite things to do was play in the water behind his home. The small path was steep but well-worn thanks to him. There was no beach, just a little sand and a lot of rocks that jutted out from the clear blue water. John didn't mind. He could stick his feet in and play with this boat while watching the crabs and starfish. He had a fascination with the water that started from the time he was born. His mother blamed it on the fact that his father was in the Navy.

The five-year old boy, with short black hair and bright blue eyes, made his way to the edge of the water with that same bucktoothed grin on his face. He tugged off his sandals, placed them away from the ocean and then shuffled into water, wiggling his toes against the cool wet feeling. He knelt down, not caring that the bottom of his shorts became wet and then began to play with his little blue and white tugboat. A gift from his father.

It was common for John to play in the water beside him home every afternoon when he returned home from school with his mother. She'd watch him from the kitchen window as she went about her chores, knowing and trusting her son to be a good boy. He never went far into the water and always stayed near the shore. He never went deeper than his ankle. John Egbert was a good boy like that. Always listened to his mother, never did bad things, never asked for more and never threw tantrums. He was the most well-behaved child in his class. His parents were quite proud of that.

As John played with his little tugboat in the clear water, laughing and pointing at a few crabs that skit along the sand, he was completely unaware of the fact that he was being watched. For not too far away from John, there was something lurking in the water. Something curious and a bit scared. Something thought to only exist in fairy tales and myth.

It was young though that was almost impossible to see in the deep water. Only the tip of its head stuck out and if one were to glance, to notice, it would be gone as if it had never been there in the first place. But for now, it stayed at it was. Its head was very human-like though all that could be seen was from the bridge of its nose to the top of its shaggy black hair that didn't seem to even be wet. Its skin was a dark color. So dark grey that in a certain light it almost looked black. Its eyes were wide with the innocent of its youth; yellow were the whites should have been with large crimson circles and black slits. Much like a cat's eyes. And nestled into the shaggy hair that seemed water-resistant, were two oddly colored nubs that stood out against its otherwise dark coloring. The orange and yellow were in great contrast to the black of its hair and skin.

Crimson eyes watched John play with curiosity. Never had it wandered to the surface before. It never had a reason to. But with the recent loss of its parents, it had nothing left to lose. It was alone now. Terrified and alone; craving some form of company to counter the emptiness it felt inside. John's bright smile drew the creature in; giving it courage it was unaware it had. But it refused to get closer. So it watched from afar; always curious, always craving.

* * *

One day, John finally noticed the creature that was watching him. It was a normal day like any other. He was six and still loved to play in the water with his tugboat. He was in the middle of saving the starfish from the evil Dr. Crab when a strange feeling overtook him. He paused, blinking at the crab that skit away in the water before snapping his head up. For one instance, barely even a second, he saw it. Those glowing crimson eyes and strangely colored nubs. When John blinked, it was gone.

He felt a strange cold overtake him, his body shaking as he stood up. His eyes scanned the water but saw nothing. He gathered up his tugboat and then took off running back to the house. He had no clue what he had seen but he knew he had seen _something_. There was something in the water and it terrified the six-year-old. His mother tried to ease his worries but John didn't return to the water for a long time.

* * *

Being the child that he was, John returned to his normal routine only after three months. But those three months felt like an eternity to the creature. It knew what it had done. It knew it had scared the boy and it felt horrible about it. In a way, it saw John as a friend. It wasn't sure what to do. It knew it couldn't continue to watch the boy from afar because it would only scare the boy again. It also knew it couldn't just leave because John had come to mean something to it. Watching the boy for so long as made the creature feel less empty. Less alone. So there was only one option. An option that terrified the creature because there was an even higher chance of him scaring the boy once again. But it felt it had to take the chance.

When John came down to the water from his home, that same smile on his face and that tugboat in his hands, those crystal blue orbs scanned the ocean. He didn't see the strange thing he had once seen. He'd been convinced he imagined it from his parents so he felt no fear when he settled down in the shallow water to play. He was too busy trying to fill the boat with water to notice that something was approaching in the water.

A strange splash caught his attention. He blinked, raising his head to scan the ocean. He saw nothing, shrugged it off as a fish before returning to his tugboat. Then he heard the splash again. Confused, the boy lifted his head again only to let out a yelp of surprise when he lost footing and stumbled back into the water on his bum. Now drenched in water, the boy gasped at the soft laughter that reached his ears.

"You look like a drenched rat."

John was frozen to the spot at the strange boy only a few feet away, floating in the water, his torso the only part visible. The crimson eyes and candy corn colored horns were familiar to him. The boy couldn't have been any older than John was, in fact, they appeared to be the same age. His skin was the darkest grey but he was still human-like in form. His were arms crossed over his bare chest, his lips pulled back over rather sharp teeth and his eyes were narrowed slightly. He looked threatening even if he wasn't trying to be.

"You've been watching me!" John exclaimed, pointing a finger at the other boy when the realization hit him.

The dark-skinned boy rolled his strange eyes and jerked his shoulders in a shrug. "So?"

"So! It's not polite to stare!" He got to his feet, brushing at his clothes before trying to wring out the water now soaking them. "Mama always says so."

The strange boy just shrugged again. "I don't have a mama."

John's head snapped up, his ocean blue eyes going wide at the thought. "You don't... But everyone has a mama!"

"Not me."

His hands fell away from his clothes as he tilted his head at the strange creature before him. "Did she go away? Dave's mama went away."

Crimson eyes narrowed as a soft hiss came from the boy's lips. "She did not go away. She was taken."

"See! You do have a mama!"

"No, I don't!" The dark-skinned boy snapped back making John flinch. "She's gone and she's never coming back."

John took in the way the boy's shoulders were shaking and how his hands now formed fists at his sides. He noticed the strange red slits on either side of his chest, where his ribs were. And he really noticed the strange red liquid forming in the boy's eyes. He gasped softly, his blue eyes going wide as he took a few more steps into the water.

"I'm sorry!" His hands reached for the creature but the boy flinched away, moving a little farther out. John pouted softly, bringing his hands back to himself. "I'm sorry you don't have a mama." He spoke softly, hoping to make the other feel better in some way. "That must be lonely."

The creature flinched, glancing away from the boy to the rippling water. "Yeah..."

"I'm John! John Egbert!" He said with a grin, taking a few more steps out into the water. "What's your name?"

Crimson met ocean blue and for a moment, they were both silent. John still grinning and hopeful while the other just watched with a strange curiosity. The creature swallowed, letting his fists relax at his side as he glanced away from the boy, the curves of his round cheeks flushing red.

"I'm Karkat." He mumbled softly.

"It's nice to meet you, Karkat! Do you wanna play?" John dropped to his knees in the water, shivering slightly as it came to lap at his stomach and grabbed his tugboat, offering it to the other. "This is Willy and we like to save the ocean together!"

Karkat eyed the boy, still curious and a little timid but he moved closer. "I don't... I don't know how to play."

John looked at the other like he'd spoken something he didn't understand. "It's not that hard, Karkat. Oh! Wait here!" And then John was on his feet, leaving the tugboat behind as he took off back up the path toward his home.

Karkat watched him leave for a moment before his eyes were on the strange little toy that John loved to play with. It wobbled in the water, floating on its own against the small waves. He moved forward but found he couldn't move too far without revealing his tail. He wasn't ready for that. He wasn't ready to show John what he was. He knew he was different. He knew he was a freak and he was wrong. He knew he shouldn't exist and that was a lot to bear for a young boy. John was willing to be his friend. Karkat wasn't willing to do anything to mess that up. He didn't know how to act around anyone but he thought, John would show him. He only knew how to act because of watching John. The memories of his parents were gone, faded into nothing so all the creature knew was loneliness. John was supposed to change that.

"Karkat!" John waved as he came running down the path, another toy boat in his hands. "Here! You can play with this one. So we both have something to play with." He settled back down in the water and offered the boat to the other boy.

Karkat just stared at it for a moment before reaching forward, taking the boat from the other. Only a few feet separated them while Karkat pressed against the drop off that kept his bottom half concealed. He turned the boat over in his hands, finding the blue, red and white boat to be rather interesting. "What do I do with it?"

"You play." John grabbed his tugboat that was floating away and brought it closer, keeping a hold on it as he pushed it through the water, making strange sounds with his mouth. "See?" He asked, his eyes and smile bright as he looked at the other.

Karkat placed the boat in the water, let it float for a moment before he gave it a push with the tip of his claw. John watched with curiosity, noticing how there was thin skin between the boy's fingers. His hands were webbed but only slightly so that it wasn't noticable unless someone looked close enough. The tips of his fingers pointed out into claws and it wasn't surprising that someone would be afraid of him. But John wasn't afraid. Not anymore. Because Karkat just wanted a friend and John loved making new friends.

John spent the rest of his afternoon teaching Karkat how to play. The boy was a fast learner and once he realized how to play, he was a great playmate for the human boy. Karkat had a vast imagination that made John's seem weak so the boy let the other take the lead in their adventures. He enjoyed watching Karkat swim around with their boats but most of all, he liked seeing the boy smile.

"John!" The call of the boy's mother made Karkat suddenly disappear. "Time to wash up for dinner!"

"Coming mama!" John called, getting to his feet as he looked for his friend. Not a moment later, Karkat's head popped up out of the water, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the landed. "I gotta go now." John said with a soft pout before he brightened with an idea. "You wanna come for dinner?" Karkat shook his head, dipping it down till the water lapped at it lip. John deflated at the dismiss as he gathered the boats in his hands. "Oh. Okay. Um, where are you gonna go then?"

Karkat glanced behind him at the vast ocean before meeting John's eyes once again. "Home."

"Oh. Okay." John nodded with a soft bucktoothed smile. "Um, will I see you tomorrow?" Karkat nodded, causing John's smile to grow even more. "Okay! See you tomorrow, Karkat!" And with that, John ran off up the path back to his home, leaving the strange creature behind.

Karkat watched the boy leave him, a strange but familiar feeling settling in his chest. Loneliness. He hissed at the feeling, launching himself in the air as he turned around to dive back into the water. He dove and dove, deep into the depths of the sea till he came upon the cave he called home. There, he curled alone, tucking his black and red stripped tail against his body as he tried to fight the crushing feeling of loneliness that threatened to over take him.

Meanwhile, John tucked his toys away outside and gave one last glance to the ocean before hurrying inside. His mother scolded him softly for getting so wet before telling him to change. The boy did as he was told and came back downstairs in fresh clothes and a clean face and hands.

"Mama! I made a new friend today!" He told her as he settled in his chair at the kitchen table.

"Oh, you did?" The woman smiled softly at her son who was the spitting image of her as she sat down as well. "What's their name?"

"His name's Karkat!" He grinned as he dug into the warm soup his mother had made. "He's really cool! He's funny and a little strange but he comes up with these great stories that we can play."

"That sounds lovely dear." She nodded her head along, used to hearing her son ramble on about the fun he had that day while they ate dinner.

"I was a little scared of him at first because he has these weird eyes and these horns." John motioned on his head were Karkat's nubby horns were. "But he's really cool and a lot of fun!"

Jenna blinked at her son, tilting her head slightly as he motioned about his new friend. "He has horns?"

"Mhm! And he lives in the ocean!"

A smile curled to her lips as she nodded at her son. She knew it would happen one day. It was normal for kids to have imaginary friends and it was no surprise to her that John had created one that lived in the ocean. Her son was so creative. "He sounds lovely."

"I invited him to dinner but he said he had to go home. In the ocean!"

"Well, I hope next time he can join us."

"Me too!"

* * *

John was eight when he finally asked Karkat what he was. The boy had grown quite a bit but still spent his free time down by the water with the strange boy who'd become his closest friend. They talked about everything and Karkat even listened and consoled him when John cried about his father being away. Karkat was compassionate, creative, understanding, kind and a bit strange but John adored him.

As he grew, John noticed Karkat didn't. The boy stayed the same but Karkat was a little strange anyway so John never questioned it. He never thought to. He was afraid of offending his closest friend. He had a strange fear that one day he would come down to the water to find Karkat wasn't waiting for him like he was every afternoon. It was a fear that haunted his dreams but he never spoke about it with Karkat.

"Hey, Karkat?" John asked softly, twirling the seaweed in his hands as he sat on the sand, his knees bent with his elbows resting on them while the water lapped at his toes.

Karkat tilted his head at the sound of his name and pushed forward in the water, coming to rest against the drop off, bending his body so his torso could rest in the shallow water. "Hm?"

"What are you?"

It was a simple question. A question Karkat had been waiting for but was in no way prepared for. He blinked in surprise, staring at John for a moment before straightening up. "What?"

John glanced at him before looking back down at the seaweed in his hands. "We learned a lot about sea creatures this week. Went to the aquarium. I saw a lot of fish I'd never seen before. It was pretty cool but it made me think about you. So I went to the library today during lunch and tried to find what you were." His eyes narrowed slightly, his tongue sticking out as he tried to knot the seaweed. "I found a lot of strange things. A lot of myths and lore but I figured the best way to find out was to ask you." A soft smile came to his lips when he accomplished the knot. "So, what are you?"

Karkat was quiet for a moment. He didn't know how to answer John's question because he honestly had no idea what he was. Well, he knew but he didn't know what it was called. He lost his parents at a young age and with no memory of them he was left with no memory of what he was. "I... I don't know." He answered as honestly as he could.

John continued to knot the seaweed as he spoke. "Because you're alone?"

"I'm not alone." Karkat's cheeks puffed out slightly. "I have you."

His smile grew slightly as he glanced up at the other. "That's true. You have me. But I'm not like you."

Karkat shook his head. "No, you're not like me."

"Do you have a tail?"

The questioned made Karkat's breath hitch and his skin to bristle. John just continued to knot the seaweed like he hadn't just asked a loaded question. "So what if I do?" He hissed through clenched fangs.

John blinked, meeting the other's eyes with a bit of awe on his face. "Do you?"

"What does it matter?" He wrapped his arms around himself, shifting a bit away from the other male.

"Can I see it?" John gasped out softly, placing the seaweed down as he moved to his knees, crawling in the water toward the other. "Please?" His eyes were wide and glistening, his lips pulled back in a soft smile. "Please Karkat? We're friends, the bestest of friends! You can trust me." John came to a stop right at the edge of the drop off, not caring that the water drenched his clothing. He plopped down onto his bum, letting his legs dangle from the drop off like he did countless times. "Please?" He asked once more, leaning forward a bit to peer into the other boy's face.

Karkat glanced up, meeting the eyes of the one person he knew and trusted in the world. He let out a soft sigh, chewing on his lower lip before he came over to the other male. "Promise not to... be afraid?"

"I could never be afraid of you, Karkat." John said with a soft smile.

He just rolled his eyes at that and moved in the water till he was beside John. He then turned around, his back to the drop off before he lifted himself up, sitting down beside the other male. He placed his hands behind him for leverage as he leaned back, lifting his tail out of the water for John to see. The gasp that came from those lips caused the creature's cheeks to flush.

"Oh, wow." John gasped softly, letting his eyes taken in the beauty that was Karkat's tail. It started at his waist where his grey skin turned to black scales in a V shaped pattern below his belly button. The tail was long, covered in glistening black and red scales that ended at the split fin at the bottom. That was just as black as the rest but see through as well. "Can I... Can I touch it?"

The creature shrugged, tapping his tail fins against the surface of the water. "I don't mind."

John's eyes flashed with excitement as he reached a hand forward to run over the thick rough scales of Karkat's tail. Karkat bit his lower lip, shivering at the feeling of someone else touching him. He was used to John poking him or laying a hand on him but this was different. This was intimate. Even Karkat didn't touch his tail because he considered it an abomination. It made him different. It made him incapable of going on land with John. He hated it with every fiber of his being. But John... seemed to like it.

"It's so pretty, Karkat." He whispered softly, his eyes wide with awe as he ran his fingertips over the scales delicately. "It's so different from the pictures I saw."

"Pictures?"

"Yea, when I looked up people who live in the ocean, Mermaids came up." He continued to run his fingers over the wet scales as he spoke, his eyes focused on them. "There's a lot of lore and pictures on them but those pictures don't do this justice."

Karkat crinkled his nose. "I'm a mermaid?"

"You're a mer_man_." He corrected, letting his fingers trail up to where the scales met skin. "Apparently, you're not real. Just a myth but I mean," His smile grew when he met the other's eyes, "you feel pretty real to me."

Karkat flinched at the feeling of fingertips trailing along the hem of his tail and torso. "I am real." He mumbled softly, puffing out his flushed cheeks. "But I've never seen someone like me." He dropped his tail in the water, submerging it.

"Cause you're special Karkat!" John said with a grin, patting the creature's shoulder before leaving his bubble. "I think you're pretty cool."

Karkat shifted, sitting up while his tail dangled over the drop off like John's legs did. His hands fell into the water, curling together against his tail as he stared at them. "I'm really not. I can't even leave the water."

John hummed and twisted to reach behind them, grabbing the seaweed he hand-knot into a pretty little head band. "It does suck a little but I don't mind being in the water with you." He smiled as he placed the seaweed band onto Karkat's head, tucking it under a few strands of hair and around his horns. The merboy blinked in slight surprise as he glanced up at the grinning boy he considered his only friend. "You're really cool Karkat. Don't ever think otherwise." All the other could do was nod in agreement.

* * *

Life fell into a sense of normalcy for the two young boys. John would come to the water as often as he could and Karkat would be waiting for him. John talked about his other friends but he never brought them to see Karkat. John said they were special friends and he didn't want to share him. Karkat never had a reason to argue that. John brought Karkat many things to pass his time but what Karkat loved the most was reading. He couldn't read underwater so when john brought him one of his mother's books, Karkat was happy. The ability to read was something he already possessed. Another faded memory of his parents.

Time passed, seasons changed and the two remained close friends. John grew, Karkat did not. He grew into a lanky teenager with bucked teeth and a dorky smile. He grew tall and over the years he filled out. He grew into this teeth and his smile became more handsome than dorky, or so Karkat thought. But still, the merboy didn't grow. They didn't understand it but there was nothing they could do about it. All Karkat could do was watch John grow while he remained the small little boy that he was. Though his mind grew, his body did not and it frustrated him. Proved to him even more how different he was. Made him hate himself even more.

And then one day, in the middle of John's junior year of highschool, he came home to find Karkat wasn't waiting for him. He was struck with fear at first but he sat in the sand and waited. He waited until the sun set and his mother called him in for dinner. He left disappointed but still a little hopeful. Karkat never missed a meeting and that bothered John. He only hoped that whatever had come up was over and he would see his merboy friend again the next day.

But John was left alone. Karkat did not show up the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. John became worried that something happened to his friend. As he grew, he kept his friendship with Karkat a secret from his parents but now that the boy had disappeared, he felt he needed to do something. So he told them. He told them everything. And John was lucky to have such kind, understanding parents. They knew their seventeen year old son wouldn't just make such a thing up. Not something he'd lived with his whole life. In fact, it all made sense to them because Mrs. Egbert had moments where she thought she saw someone else out in the water with her son.

His parents helped him search but he found nothing. The ocean was a large and vast place. It was impossible to find one person. But John refused to give up. Every night when he came home from school, he would sit in the sand waiting for Karkat. He'd do his homework, study for tests, and everything he usually did when Karkat was around. It was lonely and left John feeling a bit more miserable at the end of each day, but he refused to give up.

His friends began to notice the change in him. But when they asked, John would just brush it off at first. After a while, they became more concerned. The normally vibrantly happy boy seemed more and more depressed as the days went on. It was only so long before John broke in the arms of his close friend Dave. He spilled everything to the male who, to his credit, didn't make fun of the boy once. He offered to sit with John and wait for Karkat but John refused. He said it was something he had to do on his own. Dave agreed but stated his offer would always stand. John was lucky to have such good friends.

* * *

Two years passed. John never gave up completely but eventually, he had to stop waiting by the water for someone to show up. He graduated high school and even made his way into college. A good college. A college in the city where he lived with his best bro Dave. He never forgot Karkat. He refused to. He could still remember the sound of his laugh, the way his scales felt under his finger tips and the way the boy would smile at him. A smile that was only his.

He missed the water. He missed the feel of it against his skin and the sound it would make when Karkat flicked his tail. He missed the smell of the ocean and the scent that was only Karkat. He missed him so much that he would get strange aches in his chest almost everyday at the thought of the boy. John wasn't dense. He knew he had loved the strange creature as a child. He supposed, on some level, he still did love him. But it was the past and Karkat was gone.

John flinched at the sound of his phone ringing. He narrowed his eyes at the loud thing, glancing at Dave who was absorbed in his music before snatching it up. He rolled over to his back on the couch, lifting the phone up so he could see who was calling. His lips quirked in a soft smile as he pressed the answer button and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hey mom."

"John." Her voice was rushed, startling the male into sitting up. "John, you have to come home."

"What? What's wrong? Are you okay? Is dad okay?!" His eyes widened in panic, his voice causing Dave to turn to him in confusion.

"We're fine, honey, we're fine. I promise, nothing's wrong." Her voice was soft and soothing, helping John's heart to calm slightly.

"Then what is it?" He gasped softly.

"He's back."

John didn't even say goodbye to his mother. He was off the couch, his limbs all over the place as he ran around the apartment all of a sudden. Dave's eyes widened slightly behind the shades he always wore and he tugged the headphones off his head.

"Dude, what got in your pants?"

"Home. I have to go home."

"Is mama E alright?" Dave was on his feet.

"Fine. She's fine. They're fine." John mumbled about as he gathered his coat, shoes, wallet and keys.

"Then what in the everloving fuck has you so worked up?"

"He's back." John gasped out, his eyes wide and his face pale.

Dave eyed him, raising a brow before waving his hand at him. "Get your lanky ass out of here then."

John didn't waste anymore time.

* * *

It was an hour later when John pulled into the driveway of his family home. It was a Saturday, mid afternoon, and he made it home in record time. The car door slammed behind him and he ran toward the house. He tossed his keys onto the front steps and ran past the front door, not even bothering. He knew his parents would understand. He stumbled down the steep path toward the glistening water, his eyes scanning over the surface for a familiar head. But he saw nothing.

He stumbled to a stop at the edge of the water, his eyes frantically searching. He knew his mother wouldn't have called unless she had seen him. She wouldn't do that to him. His heart pounded, his breath came in short puffs but he saw nothing.

"Karkat!" He suddenly yelled, his hands forming fists at his sides. "Karkat!" He called again, rather frantically. "Where are you?!"

"Jesus fucktits, Egdork. Stop screeching!"

John froze at the unfamiliar voice. He slowly glanced to the side and gasped at the creature lounging on the rock that had always been Karkat's. The creature _looked_ familiar. The same grey skin, the same beautiful eyes, the same shaggy black hair, the same candy corn colored horns. But he had _grown_. He'd grown so much. He was no longer a soft little merboy. His torso was toned, his arms long with strange black fins along the forearms. The red slits that were his gills were in the same place, pressed against a toned body that was surprising to John. His lips were curled over a set of sharp fangs, his expression a strange smirk that felt out of place in John's memories. The button nose remained, as did the rounded cheeks but they were a bit thinner. The flush of red over those cheeks and nose were completely familiar however.

"Jeeze, you gonna stare at me all day or has that thinkpan of yours short circuited?" He asked, flicking a hand in John's direction. A hand that was just as different as the rest of him. The webbing between his fingers was more prominent and the tips of his fingers were long black claws.

"K-Karkat?" John mumbled softly, his eyes going wide at the creature sitting on the rock. Out of the water.

"Who else would it be?"

"Karkat!"

The merman didn't have a chance to dodge when the human threw himself at him. They both tumbled off the back of the rock, Karkat's back hitting the ground with a painful grunt.

"Bullshitting fuckjamming poopmunch." Karkat gasped for breath, his claws pushing at the toned chest a top of him.

But John wasn't going anywhere. His arms wrapped tightly around Karkat's neck, hugging the male against him. "It's you. It's really you."

The creature blinked up at the sky for a moment before glancing at the head of black hair nestled in his neck. He bit his lower lip as he brought up a clawed hand to pat the other's back. "Yea, It's me."

John's shoulder shook slightly, his face pressing against the other's cool neck as he hugged him tightly. "I thought you... I thought I'd never see you again."

Karkat flinched at the tone in John's voice and his eyes grew wide at the warm tears that trickled against his skin. "I... I'm sorry." He wrapped both arms around the male, hugging him back just as tightly.

John sniffed softly before he pushed off of Karkat and was suddenly straddling his tail. "Where did you go?!" He asked, wiping at his tears with the sleeve of his coat. It was near the end of winder after all. "I waited for you! I came here everyday and you never showed up. I thought..." He sniffed, closing his eyes tightly at the surprised expression on the others face. "I thought something bad happened to you."

The merman inhaled deeply before shifting to sit up the best he could. "Something bad did happen." He slipped his clawed hands over John's cheeks, cupping his face as he peered at him. Blue eyes peeked open and they were both left a little breathless.

"What happened?" John asked softly, peering into crimson eyes.

"Others found me. Other people like me. They're nice, sorta. More like annoying little bags of fucknuggets." He snarled softly before shaking his head to calm himself. "Either way, I went through a change. Remember how we were always wondering why I never grew? Well, that's cause we spurt all at once. And I did that. It was painful as a motherfuck and for a while, I was just curled in my hive trying to fight the pain." He sighed softly at the look of pain in those ocean eyes. "These other merpeople, they helped me a lot. Taught me a lot about myself. Stuff I never knew." He smiled softly, tilting his head as his claws bushed over John's cheeks. "I'm sorry John. I wanted to come back, I did. But I was..." He puffed his cheeks in such a familiar way that it made John smile.

"Scared?"

"I was not!" He snapped, letting his hands fall from the other's face.

"You so were. You were afraid I wouldn't accept you cause you changed and were different but Karkat, you know I love you right? As you are?" John grinned, shifting on the tail to dig both hands into Karkat's soft thick black hair. "No matter what. You should know that." And then his eyes narrowed as he pressed their foreheads together. "I was terrified I'd lose you one day and then I did. You're my best friend, Karkat. You have no idea what you mean to me. So don't do that again, okay?"

The merman nodded slightly, his nostrils flaring at the lovely scent that was John Egbert. The black slits of his eyes grew, rounding out till the crimson was just a thin outline. John leaned back at that, tiling his head slightly at the male beneath him. He noticed how flushed Karkat's cheeks were and it dawned on him. They were older now. Grown up. Adults in a way. And they had always had a strange relationship.

"You don't live here anymore." Karkat stated out of the blue, his eyes following the line of John's jaw.

"I, Uh." John licked his lips, his own tanned cheeks flushing a bit. "I moved in with Dave. Going to college in the city. I still live here though, I'm just not here all the time. It has been two years, Karkat."

"Has it really been that shitfucking long?" He mumbled softly, his eyes trailing to John's freshly moistened lips.

"Yea. Uh, Karkat?"

He trailed his eyes up to meet ocean blue. "Yeah?"

"You grew up really well." John stated with a grin before leaning forward to press his lips to the others ever so slightly. The kiss was soft and short-lived because almost as soon as Karkat realized what John was doing, the merman flailed his arms and flicked his tail, knocking John from him.

"Shit!" Karkat cursed, rolling onto his side rather quickly as John burst out laughing, wiping at the relieved tears in his eyes. "Sorry."

"You haven't changed." John said through a fit of laughter. Karkat's cheeks puffed out before he pushed off the ground and launched himself into the water. The splash of cool water caused John to call out and he sat up, eyes scanning for the merman. "Aw, Karkat! I meant it as a good thing! Come on! I missed you." He crawled toward the edge of the cold water, searching for his friend.

"Dork." Karkat stated when he popped his head out of the water. John grinned but released a yelp when Karkat suddenly grabbed him and tugged him into the water. The male flailed a bit before remembering how to swim, shivering at the bitter sharpness of the cold water.

"K-Karkat! That was mean! It's freezing in here!" He said through clenched teeth, kicking his legs to keep float and moving his arms around him.

"It's not that cold." The merman resurfaced directly in front of the other male, a playful smirk on his lips.

"Well I'm not a merman, am I?" John pouted softly, wishing for the umpteenth time in his life that he were. "I don't get to be all sexy like you!"

Karkat snorted softly, splashing John before he disappeared into the water again. John adjusted the blue frames on his face, glancing around for the other. He yelped when the collar of his jacket was suddenly grabbed and he was tugged underwater. He couldn't open his eyes in the salt water but the lips that pressed against his own were familiar. No words needed to be spoken between the two of them. They just understood and that was good enough for them.

"So what do we do now?" John asked once they came back up for air, his arms encircling the merman's waist to pull them close together. He could feel Karkat's tail swirling beneath them, keeping them afloat as they were. "I mean, I have school for another few months and I can visit as often as possible but I... I mean, I don't wanna lose you again." He pressed his forehead to the other's.

The merman shrugged, letting his claws rest over the biceps of the other male. "I could come with you."

"How?"

"Something I learned about myself." Karkat smirked softly, pushing John's arms away from him so he could swim back toward shore. John followed after, curious and a little freezing. It was worse when he got out of the water, shifting to sit on the edge of the drop off. But he ignored the way his body shook just to spend more time with the other. "Wait there." Karkat stated before he dove down into the water.

John did as asked and waited a good three minutes before anything happened. He jumped back in surprise when Karkat broke the surface again, scrambling for him. John reached out to grab the other, grasping his wrists to pull him against the drop off. He was in shock at how Karkat looked but didn't even have a chance to say anything when the male shifted to sit on the drop off beside him.

Karkat ran a hand through his damp hornless black hair. His deep rust colored eyes were narrowed slightly as he took in a puff of air through his crinkled buttoned nose. He was human. Completely human. His grey skin was now a dark tan, covered in freckles. Freckles over his cheeks and nose, over his shoulders and hips. Hips. He had hips, John registered that about the same time he realized Karkat also had another part of male human anatomy between his _legs_.

"You have legs." John mumbled softly, staring down at them with his face flushed rather darkly.

Karkat just snorted. "My whole body changes and that's the first thing your weak noodle notices?"

"You're human!" John gasped, taking in Karkat's new body.

"Yeah, fuckass, I am." He said with amusement, his nose crinkling in a rather cute way.

"Could you always do this?"

"Nah. It comes with the change." He said with a shrug. "Stuff I learned from others like me."

"So... You wanna come with me?"

"Where else am I gonna fucking go?"

Karkat didn't get the chance to avoid the body that came at him. John yelled something embarrassing as he hugged the other male tightly, laughing at the way they landed in the water. Karkat couldn't help but smile. He'd found his own way in the world and managed to keep John in the process. It wouldn't be easy for him, adjusting to human life, but for John, he was willing to do just about anything. Because being with John was so much better than being alone.

John made him feel loved. John always loved everything that Karkat hated about himself. John saved his life. John kept him alive and even though he had the help of other merpeople none of them meant what John did. John waited for him. John never forgot him. In a way, they were meant to find each other and find a way to stay together. Karkat and John were both lucky to have one another, for the rest of eternity.

* * *

**I think it went to fast for me, that might be why i'm not 100% happy with it. I do love the AU though so I might do more with this. We'll see. I feel like it needs more.  
**

**Thanks for giving it a chance. Let me know what you thought!**

**~Addy~**


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